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The Voodooguru

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57 minutes ago, Death to the Rah Rah's said:

I would hope at some point both clubs would at least sit down and start the discussion of a possible merger to form a new club as I can't see how either is us could ever challenge at Championship level now, and it's pretty obvious to all and sundry that the current format within professional RL will be contracting in the next 2-3 years as the game doesn't appear to be sustainable in its current format of 3 divisions without substantial TV revenue of which the Super League clubs will want the lions share 

 

I'm not sure merger would work without a massive influx of cash to put together a instantly successful team, we get by on a small group of fans that come week in week out  because of loyalty to the club.  Put out a weak merged team and that loyalty won't be there. Beaumont has stated only this week that he has put 750k into Leigh already this season on top of there substantial central funding and significantly bigger crowds. Really don't know what the answer is but I fear for professional Rugby league in West Cumbria.

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11 minutes ago, tbgfc said:

I'm not sure merger would work without a massive influx of cash to put together a instantly successful team, we get by on a small group of fans that come week in week out  because of loyalty to the club.  Put out a weak merged team and that loyalty won't be there. Beaumont has stated only this week that he has put 750k into Leigh already this season on top of there substantial central funding and significantly bigger crowds. Really don't know what the answer is but I fear for professional Rugby league in West Cumbria.

The game as gone, the spectacle as been over ruled,amateur rugby is on its ###### and people apart from diehards only follow winning teams. We're in a vicious circle of and have been for years of being up and being down having restart over. Chris as not done a good job this year I'm sorry to say,I'm not buying and never will that we got promoted a year early. A really good coach would kept us in this league even if it was 3rd from bottom. Watching town this year as been awful, we've had a lot of bad seasons here at DP and this as been up there as one of the worst.

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go **** yasell ya little **** gain NL1 then take ya **** out ya dads **** then speak proper rugby talk. you jameating little spotty ****...itchy waa waa 2008...

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48 minutes ago, anok4u said:

The game as gone, the spectacle as been over ruled,amateur rugby is on its ###### and people apart from diehards only follow winning teams. We're in a vicious circle of and have been for years of being up and being down having restart over. Chris as not done a good job this year I'm sorry to say,I'm not buying and never will that we got promoted a year early. A really good coach would kept us in this league even if it was 3rd from bottom. Watching town this year as been awful, we've had a lot of bad seasons here at DP and this as been up there as one of the worst.

You have a short memory if you think this season is up there with one of the worst marra. Its been disappointing but nowhere near and of the dark days we have endured.

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The race is not always to the swift nor the battle to the strong, but thats the way to bet!

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2 hours ago, Death to the Rah Rah's said:

I would hope at some point both clubs would at least sit down and start the discussion of a possible merger to form a new club as I can't see how either is us could ever challenge at Championship level now, and it's pretty obvious to all and sundry that the current format within professional RL will be contracting in the next 2-3 years as the game doesn't appear to be sustainable in its current format of 3 divisions without substantial TV revenue of which the Super League clubs will want the lions share 

 

I agree mate, I'd at least like to think it's an option. From what I've heard (albeit rumours) if teams finish outside playoffs in championship next year they're pretty much done for. If the merger was done, I'm hoping it's done correctly over time i.e A-team in place, scholarship system, women's team etc... Would all depend on a backer.

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10 minutes ago, Neutralfan7 said:

I agree mate, I'd at least like to think it's an option. From what I've heard (albeit rumours) if teams finish outside playoffs in championship next year they're pretty much done for. If the merger was done, I'm hoping it's done correctly over time i.e A-team in place, scholarship system, women's team etc... Would all depend on a backer.

Both town and haven would have to introduce a proper infrastructure to  go forward, sadly I don't think either club have the right people involved for this to happen, and it's sad for the supporters and the area.

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1 minute ago, JMB said:

Both town and haven would have to introduce a proper infrastructure to  go forward, sadly I don't think either club have the right people involved for this to happen, and it's sad for the supporters and the area.

Maybe get lucky and a rugby mad west Cumbrian has won the euromillions 🤣🤞

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1 hour ago, The Voodooguru said:

You have a short memory if you think this season is up there with one of the worst marra. Its been disappointing but nowhere near and of the dark days we have endured.

Can't remember us not scoring a point for 3 home matches,that's got to go down as bad, but yeah your right seasons were we had  3 amateur defeats were up there.

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go **** yasell ya little **** gain NL1 then take ya **** out ya dads **** then speak proper rugby talk. you jameating little spotty ****...itchy waa waa 2008...

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When the inevitable occurs hopefully we look at the most basic elements of the club. It wasnt long ago that we had people in paid positions as CEO and in development. I hope that we can get the off field structures in place to allow the club to grow and be sustainable.

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Forget Chuck and Chad I am the real legend killer

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3 hours ago, anok4u said:

The game as gone, the spectacle as been over ruled,amateur rugby is on its ###### and people apart from diehards only follow winning teams. We're in a vicious circle of and have been for years of being up and being down having restart over. Chris as not done a good job this year I'm sorry to say,I'm not buying and never will that we got promoted a year early. A really good coach would kept us in this league even if it was 3rd from bottom. Watching town this year as been awful, we've had a lot of bad seasons here at DP and this as been up there as one of the worst.

Don't forget it was less than 10 months ago there was over 3000 down at DP for the playoff and the whole town was bouncing - as quickly as we lost that momentum we can get it back.

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14 minutes ago, Mr Frisky said:

Don't forget it was less than 10 months ago there was over 3000 down at DP for the playoff and the whole town was bouncing - as quickly as we lost that momentum we can get it back.

🤞

go **** yasell ya little **** gain NL1 then take ya **** out ya dads **** then speak proper rugby talk. you jameating little spotty ****...itchy waa waa 2008...

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5 hours ago, Death to the Rah Rah's said:

I would hope at some point both clubs would at least sit down and start the discussion of a possible merger to form a new club as I can't see how either is us could ever challenge at Championship level now, and it's pretty obvious to all and sundry that the current format within professional RL will be contracting in the next 2-3 years as the game doesn't appear to be sustainable in its current format of 3 divisions without substantial TV revenue of which the Super League clubs will want the lions share 

 

Barrow are going great this season on the back of a really good off field setup that maximises revenue allowing them to invest in the squad,have a productive youth setup & run a ladies team.

Whether Town/Haven merge or go it alone,Barrow’s should act as a blueprint on how to take a club forward without a rich backer.

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It’s a real shame we couldn’t carry on the momentum from those playoff games . People want to see a successful team on the pitch and did turn up , but unfortunately we didn’t have the offield resources and with what we had didn’t get it right I’m afraid to push it on in a division that had really moved on even in the short time since we were last in it . And also unfortunately if understandably too many easily drift away when it becomes a struggle and it just goes downhill . For everything we discuss and all our justifiable criticism us fans just have to stick with them , do all we can to support , hope we can rebuild and get that onfield momentum back which hopefully will attract more fans and help us offield . If we don’t it’ll be even worse. It’s been rubbish but boy in my time it’s been a lot rubbisher . League 1 is pretty depressing so hopefully we can get a squad together to succeed in it , we really need to . Then I think there’s meant to be a restructuring 

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8 minutes ago, Davo5 said:

Barrow are going great this season on the back of a really good off field setup that maximises revenue allowing them to invest in the squad,have a productive youth setup & run a ladies team.

Whether Town/Haven merge or go it alone,Barrow’s should act as a blueprint on how to take a club forward without a rich backer.

Both town and haven had the chance several years ago when Cresta offered to help them set up the successful jets scheme that he set up, and it's plain to see how successful it turned out for them, it also proved a great opportunity to build relationships with the local amateurs clubs.  

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1 hour ago, Davo5 said:

Barrow are going great this season on the back of a really good off field setup that maximises revenue allowing them to invest in the squad,have a productive youth setup & run a ladies team.

Whether Town/Haven merge or go it alone,Barrow’s should act as a blueprint on how to take a club forward without a rich backer.

I agree to a point, Barrow have the distinct advantage in that the town is the second largest in Cumbria and the population will be the same as Workington and Whitehaven combined, so straight away they have a larger catchment area, but there's no denying they have formulated a business plan and stuck to it, which has resulted in success both on and off the field, starting from a similar point to where we are now - so that gives me some hope for the future!

Barrow's isolation also helps with sponsorship as they are just competing with the footie side, whereas Town and Haven are battling in the same limited local market.

I know that Town have had a glorious spell of success in the dim and distant past, but that's history and I think steps need to be taken now to cement the future of the sport in this part of Cumbria, which should include A-team, development and ladies teams.

The problems will start if both Town and Haven decide to run A Teams, Development and Ladies sides there isn't the population to support the doubling up of everything within a 10 mile distance

I would love Town and Haven to thrive and keep their identities as I love the rivalry, but its becoming increasingly harder to survive and the game/business model has evolved from just being a part time sport run on 28 Sundays a year into a year round business, something which both our clubs at present are struggling to embrace (due to lack of facilities and manpower) and the RFL and going to really start pushing clubs to be self sustainable to have a future within the professional ranks in the very near future

Edited by Death to the Rah Rah's
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The danger of merger is that we will end up with one poor team instead of 2 poor teams unless of course some substantial financial backing was included from somewhere. Fans would find it easier to stop following a poor merged team rather than sticking with their historical teams.  I know this is negative thinking but unfortunately its probably the most likely outcome.

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2 hours ago, Davo5 said:

Barrow are going great this season on the back of a really good off field setup that maximises revenue allowing them to invest in the squad,have a productive youth setup & run a ladies team.

Whether Town/Haven merge or go it alone,Barrow’s should act as a blueprint on how to take a club forward without a rich backer.

have you seen how many directors and associate directors barrow have,they may not all put big money into the club ,but a lot of small amounts add up.

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17 minutes ago, Churchill Drivers said:

The danger of merger is that we will end up with one poor team instead of 2 poor teams unless of course some substantial financial backing was included from somewhere. Fans would find it easier to stop following a poor merged team rather than sticking with their historical teams.  I know this is negative thinking but unfortunately its probably the most likely outcome.

I'm not sure that's right, especially as there would be only one west Cumbrian  club trying to attract the best of the local amateurs and also traveling players, also would it not be easier to attract more sponsors to new club, 

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4 minutes ago, denisatesk said:

have you seen how many directors and associate directors barrow have,they may not all put big money into the club ,but a lot of small amounts add up.

They must have been attracted to Barrow for a reason,I doubt it was by chance or pity,so again something for both or a merged team to look at.

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Can anyone tell me the attraction of a merged club outside of the top 2 divisions or the only 2 divisions as is it may become? 
 

Watching Cornwall, West Wales etc is a no go for me. If it happened now do we end up with a rebrand of one club playing at either Town or Haven? Please someone explain how that is an improvement on what there is now? Likewise as has been discussed many times starting afresh where? Money? 

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8 minutes ago, Marrafan said:

Can anyone tell me the attraction of a merged club outside of the top 2 divisions or the only 2 divisions as is it may become? 
 

Watching Cornwall, West Wales etc is a no go for me. If it happened now do we end up with a rebrand of one club playing at either Town or Haven? Please someone explain how that is an improvement on what there is now? Likewise as has been discussed many times starting afresh where? Money? 

This will never work - I for one follow Town not rugby league in general. if they ever merged i would not be part of it and i would just stop going and i  guess there will be loads like me on both sides,

UNLESS -  its a merger like Barrow and Carlisle - which just ended up with Barrow, all that changed was the Raiders name added- I may be wrong but dont think many Carlisle fans go to Barrow every match and they didn't have a ground to sell etc - just a paper exercise.

If its a merger - Haven and Town - which just ended up with Haven. That's me finished and probably a few more.

If its a merger - Haven and Town - which just ended up with Town. That's probably all the Jammies finished

 

 

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I think a lot of you are missing the point.

the teams that take the field on a Sunday are just one piece of the jigsaw, but despite both clubs best efforts the other pieces of the jigsaw are missing and Town and Haven as independent clubs are always going to be in the bottom batch of clubs when it comes to playing budgets.

If for example Town and Haven had a players budget of £250k each, then combined that could be 400-500k which would make the clubs more competitive plus players could in theory anyway be cheaper as there's just the one local club to sign for.

As I see it:

  • This is all about putting in structures to ensure that there's still professional rugby being played in this area in the coming years, ensuring there's a coordinated development pathway from youth rugby through to open age and into the professional game.
  • Creating the same development platform for female rugby.
  • Creating stronger links with the community games by working with the various management groups to help them develop players and coaches alike as well as improving those clubs in the way they operate.
  • Consolidating and improving commercial opportunities

Neither Town or Haven have the finances or manpower to do this on their own, so we either carry on as we are and watch as players jump between the two clubs playing both off against each other for improved contracts, or they get their heads together and try to come up with a workable plan for the future and build a prosperous club from the base up!

As Derwent Parker says, if a merger was to happen, then no doubt there would be supporters of both teams who wouldn't watch a new side, certainly in the short term, but those supporters might be offset by a generation of new supporters and sponsors who would get behind the new venture.  

 


 


 

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1 hour ago, Marrafan said:

Can anyone tell me the attraction of a merged club outside of the top 2 divisions or the only 2 divisions as is it may become? 
 

Watching Cornwall, West Wales etc is a no go for me. If it happened now do we end up with a rebrand of one club playing at either Town or Haven? Please someone explain how that is an improvement on what there is now? Likewise as has been discussed many times starting afresh where? Money? 

It would pool sponsorship and resources and stop clubs fighting over limited local talent. It wouldn't instantly caterpult the club into the higher echelon  but it could put the foundations in place to build on. It would need to take steps to strengthen the amateur game too. I personally don't think it will happen as too many will throw obstacles in the way. 

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6 minutes ago, Death to the Rah Rah's said:

I think a lot of you are missing the point.

the teams that take the field on a Sunday are just one piece of the jigsaw, but despite both clubs best efforts the other pieces of the jigsaw are missing and Town and Haven as independent clubs are always going to be in the bottom batch of clubs when it comes to playing budgets.

If for example Town and Haven had a players budget of £250k each, then combined that could be 400-500k which would make the clubs more competitive plus players could in theory anyway be cheaper as there's just the one local club to sign for.

As I see it:

  • This is all about putting in structures to ensure that there's still professional rugby being played in this area in the coming years, ensuring there's a coordinated development pathway from youth rugby through to open age and into the professional game.
  • Creating the same development platform for female rugby.
  • Creating stronger links with the community games by working with the various management groups to help them develop players and coaches alike as well as improving those clubs in the way they operate.
  • Consolidating and improving commercial opportunities

Neither Town or Haven have the finances or manpower to do this on their own, so we either carry on as we are and watch as players jump between the two clubs playing both off against each other for improved contracts, or they get their heads together and try to come up with a workable plan for the future and build a prosperous club from the base up!

As Derwent Parker says, if a merger was to happen, then no doubt there would be supporters of both teams who wouldn't watch a new side, certainly in the short term, but those supporters might be offset by a generation of new supporters and sponsors who would get behind the new venture.  

 


 

 

 

How many mergers have actually worked in the true sense without one club just swallowing up another. Obviously if we get a new stadium surely the new merged team would play there and I can't imagine many Haven fans being to enthusiastic about it and I can't see the funding being changed for a new stadium at lillyhall to keep both sets of fans happy which would be needed to actually give a merger any chance of working but probably if it did happen wouldn't sit to well with the Reds. Effectively it would be seen as a rebranded Workington Town at the cost of another club.

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Both clubs have only lasted this long due to the generosity of successful local businesses. They both pull from the same talent pool and both tout for the same sponsorship. This has been unsustainable for years. If the region is ever to see the standard of rugby we all crave, a merger is the only option i think. Park rivalries aside so the next generation have a club to aspire to play for. 

Are kids in allerdale and copeland really mad keen to go on and one day play for town/haven as they are now??? I don't think so

Edited by townie88
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Even the diehards on here know we are going down after a very disappointing season. I'm just pleased we still have people at the helm who are looking for ways to turn us round next season. With only 2 home games left this season I would appeal to every Townie out there to stick by the club and show their support by getting down to DP.  I'm still a supporter of Chris and would hope he's given the chance to turn us around again. My only concern is if he loses or has lost the respect of the players, then no coach can carry on in that scenario IMO. There's usually only one outcome if this was the case  here's hoping it isn't. UTT.

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